Six roles you need in your CRM project team

On the sixth day of Christmas, my truelove gave to me... A list of 6 roles needed in larger CRM Implementations

For larger CRM implementations in particular, the following are six roles which would be very useful. Some of them might not needed immediately when a project kicks-off, but they will be required thereafter.

• Project Manager: A good project manager is central to the success of a CRM implementation. They run the project day-to-day and deliver the project, hopefully within the budget and timescales and of the quality required and, importantly, act as the central communication hub to all stakeholders and interested parties.
• Solution Architect: This is a role which is becoming more and more important when you are implementing a Salesforce/Dynamics type project where the system design is so crucial. For such projects you should have your own in-house solution architect. They will translate user/business requirements into the (data) architecture for the CRM system at a technical level, and quite likely work alongside your supplier's solution architect.
• Business Analyst(s): They will work with your users and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), extract their business requirements, document them and quite possibly create business/data flows of the processes. They are essential so that you can identify all your needs and processes and will be extremely helpful when it comes to implementing the new CRM.
• Data Migration manager: Although this might depend on who is doing the data migration (from the old to the new system) and how it will be done, at the very least you will need a person in your own organisation who really understands the in-depth detail of the existing database so that they can work with the new supplier. At the other extreme, it might be that they need to be even more hands-on in terms of mapping and migrating the data into the new CRM system.
• Test Manager: Regardless of your project methodology, you will need to test the build of your new CRM system, the data migration, work with your users and so on. A Test Manager to manage and co-ordinate all this will be invaluable.
• Trainer: Someone to train your staff on the new system. The best trainers I have worked with also understand 'the business' and don't just train in a 'press that button' style, but relate the new software to the users' needs and processes. They might even have some BA skills.

There are of course other roles such as in-house developers, product manager/solution owner, change manager, report writer, project support staff and so on.